Research on geographical factors of location of beacon towers of the Great Wall of Han Dynasty: a case study of Yumen City

doi:10.7523/j.ucas.2021.0030

Abstract

Abstract: The Great Wall of Han Dynasty is the most important ancient defense system in the desert region of Northwest China with beacon towers standing in great numbers. In the Han dynasty with limited economic conditions and arid areas with adverse natural conditions, how spatial location of beacon towers played a role in agriculture and military is of great significance for understanding the past human-land relationship. However, current domestic researches are mostly qualitative from the perspective of history and archaeology which is difficult to restore the spatial cognition and technology in the ancient environment without quantitative results. Taking Yumen City, Gansu Province as an example, this paper introduced spatial analysis and statistical methods including point pattern analysis, spatial correlation test, Monte Carlo simulation to quantitatively test the sensitivity of factors that probably affect the spatial distribution of beacon sites. Two types of factors, natural environmental and human settlement, were tested, which further summarized the law of spatial layout of beacon towers. Results indicated that the elevation showed sensitivity in the range of 1250-1500m, while the nearest distance to water showed sensitivity in the range of 0-1535m. The slope factor was sensitive between 2.5°-8°, and the aspect was sensitive in the range of 70° southeast to 60° southwest. The city sites were also sensitive predictors within a radius of about 2-20km centered on themselves. Analysis of the results indicated that the beacon towers along the Great Wall optimized the cost and utility of the military intelligence transmission between the front and the rear city barrier while guaranteeing the visibility of the front line. Additionally, the environment for human settlements at the site was considered by choosing oases with flat terrain and sufficient water sources, confirming its auxiliary functions such as farming and transportation, which comprehensively reflected the advanced geospatial cognition and technology in the Han Dynasty.

Key words: beacon towers, spatial installation, sensitivity of factors, spatial correlation, point pattern analysis

CLC Number:

K901.9
K909

SUN Ruiqi, LUO Lei, WANG Xinyuan, YAO Ya, HUANG Wenjiang, DONG Yingying, LIAN Yi. Research on geographical factors of location of beacon towers of the Great Wall of Han Dynasty: a case study of Yumen City[J]. Journal of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2023, 40(1): 50-58.

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